tales-of-Fogo-Island

The Dominion and AlarmMany sealing ships were lost at the ice. Sometimes their wooden hulls werecrushed and the people on board had to jump to safety. According to somereports, the spring of 1870 was one of the worst seasons ever at the ice. Thestory of two ships was reported by Fitzgerald (1988).The schooner Dominion (71 tonnes) of Heart's Content, Trinity Bay was lostnear Little Fogo Islands on Monday, March 21, I 870. The schooner had onlysixty old seals on board when she struck an iceberg and sank. Three of thesealers on board were drowned.The brig Alarm (119 tonnes) from Carbonear, Conception Bay was lostSaturday, March 26, 1870. The Alarm had about 1850 old and young seals onboard when the crew was forced to leave the ship in a waterlogged state. Oneman lost his life as they abandoned the ship.The surviving crew members walked on the ice to the safety of Fogo Island.When they arrived, they did not have any clothes or food. They had to rely onthe 'relief' issued by the Justice of the Peace. At first, the men believed theycould walk across the run on the ice and then go by land to their homes.However, the weather and ice conditions made this impossible. The menwaited patiently, knowing that the only other way to leave the island wasaboard a boat rigged for ice. After waiting on Fogo Island for one wholemonth, the men finally got a chance to head for home. The barque Queen ofCape Freels came into Fogo and picked them up. Those men must have beenhappy to finally get back to their homes and families!The Francis P. DukeOne of the worst shipping tragedies to strike Fogo Island was the loss of theFrancis P. Duke. The forty-seven tonne schooner was owned by CaptainPatrick Miller of Fogo. She was built in Placentia Bay and was powered by twodiesel motors and sails.On December 17, 1947, the Francis P. Duke left Fogo with a load of salt coden route to Catalina. The forecast for that night included strong southeastwinds and snow. There was even some debate about canceling the trip until